Karuna snubs Tamil daily report on DMK being
‘superstitious’

CHENNAI, Dec 27: Claiming that he had no belief in astrology, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and DMK President M Karunanidhi today exhorted partymen to adhear to rationalist ideals, an identity of the Dravidian movement and not to give room for any criticism.

Addressing the party’s General Council here, after he was re-elected President for a record tenth term in a row, the Dravidian patriarch, referring to a report in a leading Tamil daily that DMK had fixed the General Council on an auspicious day today, said people make a mockery of the party, because some partymen gave credence to superstitious beliefs.

Reading a portion of the report, Mr Karunanidhi denied that the party has fixed the General Council for today, because it was an auspicious day and also fixed the time to start it at 0930 hrs, because if an auspicious event is held before 0945 hrs today , it would lead to success and prosperity.

Mr Karunanidhi said the General Council was fixed for today only on convenience and it had nothing to do with the auspicious day,

and added he deliberately came late to the meeting to disprove the report.

Though he had the tendency of reaching the meeting venues atleast 15 minutes ahead of the schedule, he deliberately came to the General Council only at 1015 hrs to start the proceedings, well after 0945 hrs, the "aspicious time" mentioned in the report, the DMK leader said amid laughter.

Tracing the history of the Dravidian movement, Mr Karunanidhi said being a political party was one thing, but the party should not discard its social moorings of propogating the rationalist ideals of rationalist leader Periyar E V Ramasamy and late Chief Minister C N Annadurai.(UNI)

Haryana Govt to launch energy conservation prog
in schools

CHANDIGARH, Dec 27: With a view to bringing awareness among students about energy conservation, Haryana Government will launch ‘Bal Urja Rakshak Mission’ in schools across the state.

Haryana Chief Secretary Dharamvir today said the State Government had decided to launch the programme.

Terming energy conservation as the need of an hour, he said this ‘catch-them-young’ programme had already been launched in 26 selected schools of Gurgaon which would help bring awareness among 25,000 students.

Mr Dharamvir was speaking on the occasion of the inaugural ceremony of 61^st Annual Session of (Indian Institute of Chemical Engineering) IICHE-CHEMCON, 2008 at the Panjab University Auditorium here.

He said under the programme, two teachers and 20 designated energy leaders among the students would be trained who would, in return, sensitise about 1,000 students in every school.

The programme would be replicated in 25 schools in every district and energy soldiers would be trained not to resort to power theft and also not to allow others to steal power.

The Chief Secretary said energy conservation was one of the easily available solutions for overcoming shortage of power.

Haryana had the potential of 600 MW energy conservation for which the gadgets duly approved by the Bureau of Energy Efficiency and Bureau of Indian Standards would be a great help, he added. (UNI)

BJP asks Centre to declare ISI terrorist organisation

NEW DELHI, Dec 27: The BJP today asked the Government to "stop borrowing" Pakistan’s expression of "non-state actors" and launch a frontal attack against the ISI, declaring the Pakistan Government’s intelligence wing a "terrorist organisation".

"We are sorry that our Government had done nothing substantial to make Pakistan deliver its promise of not to allow its territory to be used for terrorist attacks against India. Pakistan is only denying its involvement and not delivering its commitment," BJP spokesman Ravi Shankar Prasad told newspersons.

He said there was evidence available that the sea-borne terrorists involved in the November 26 Mumbai attacks were all trained in the use of weapons, granades and explosives and this could not have happened without "involvements of important segments of establishment in Pakistan".

They had used high quality GPS system for maritime operations, reaching Mumbai from Karachi, and received specialised training in both maritime and urban warfare aboard the ‘PNS Iqbal’, which imparted commando training, he added.

Mr Prasad said "the participation of ISI officials" in the birthday celebration of Dawood Ibrahim, the Indian fugitive living in exile in Pakistan was "a further proof of involvement" of the Pakistan establishment, adding the issue was no longer a bilateral issue between India and Pakistan but an issue of Pakistan’s "emergence as the epicentre of world terror", he added.

He said India had issued a travel advisory to the citizens to avoid going to Pakistan, unless it was a case of grave emergency. The Government should consider scaling down of staff in the High Commission in Pakistan to the barest minumum and recall India’s High Commissioner in Pakistan. It is time for taking such a step unitedly and for this to happen, the Government must speak in one voice.

He refused to state if the BJP supported "surgical strikes" in Pakistan by saying that it was for the Government of the day to decide upon the action because they had requisite information. The BJP would extend all support and cooperation in all honest efforts to fight terror emanating from the other country, he assured.

Touching upon the elections in Jammu and Kashmir, he said the high voter turnout was a "big victory of democracy" in the light of fatwas to boycott the Assembly elections by the Hurriyat leaders, a conglamoration of secessionist parties. People of the state had given a befitting reply to these leaders.

On his reaction about the reports of an imminent arrest of Congress MP Radhakant Naik in the killing of Swami Lakshmanananda Saraswati and his three followers in Orissa, Mr Prasad said the BJP had always demanded an objective investigation into the killing of the Swami, which triggered off the unrest. The Orissa CID was probing the murders.

"The authorities must proceed against any evidence of individual involvement," he added. (UNI)

Naidu, Bandaru held for protesting against
demolition drive

HYDERABAD, Dec 27: Cutting across party lines opposition leaders including TDP, TRS and BJP protested against the eviction of over 100 residents near Congress headquarters from the Bhimraowada locality at Nampally area.

Tension prevailed in Bhimraowada locality near Gandhi Bhavan over the eviction of the residents last night, leading to arrest of leaders of various political parties including TDP President N Chandrababu Naidu and BJP chief Bandaru Dattatreya, here today.

The residents residing over last eight decades behind Gandhi Bhavan, were evicted forcibly for constructing a new building for the Congress party, the opposition leaders alleged.

As news of eviction of Bhimraowada locals spread, leaders of various political parties reached the spot and expressed solidarity in support of them and condemned the act of the state government.

The TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu squatted on the main road leading to traffic snarls for some time which forced police to take him into custody along with party workers and shifted them to Nampally police station.

Speaking to media, Naidu condemned the forcibly evication of locals rendering them homeless. He demanded the State Government to build the damaged houses.

Former ministers T Srinivas and Vijayarama Rao (both TDP), N Narsimha Rao and T Harisha Rao (both TRS) were among those taken into custody.

The traffic came to standstill when leaders of different political parties were on their way to Bhimraowada.

Meanwhile, the minister for backward classes M Mukesh Goud said the Government has provided alternate houses to Bhimraowada residents at Afzalsagar with the basic facilities. (PTI)

GJM delegation leaves for second tripartite talks in Delhi

SILIGURI, WB, Dec 27: A 17-member delegation of Gorkha Janamukti Morcha (GJM) led by General Secretary, Roshan Giri, left Darjeeling this morning for New Delhi to take part in the second round of tripartite talks on December 29.

The delegation would hold talks on the ‘Gorkhaland’ issue only as the GJM leadership was not interested to discuss other issue including development in Darjeeling Hills, Giri said.

The future course of agitation would depend on the outcome of the meeting, he said adding that the delegation also had a plan to meet Union Home Minister P Chidambaram.

Meanwhile, the Janachetana Manch opposing Gorkhaland has called a 24-hour bandh on December 29 in West Bengal in protest against the Centre’s decision to hold tripartite talks with GJM and demanding identification of infiltrators from Nepal since Independence. (PTI)

BJP for 15-day Assembly to discuss security, economy

PANAJI, Dec 27: The Opposition BJP in Goa today demanded the Government to hold at least a 15-day session of the state Legislative Assembly soon to discuss the burning issues of security, economic recession and Mhadei inter-state river water dispute.

"We will no longer allow the Government to shirk from its responsibility of satisfying the opposition on the burning issues in the House by farcically reducing the number of sittings to a few days, as it did earlier," opposition leader Manohar Parrikar told mediapersons here.

He also said that the valuable time of the House in the previous sessions was lost "not because of the BJP but due to the the ruling party members themselves".

The issues, he added, included financial crisis as a result of the Sixth Finance Commission Recommendations, economic slump with government imposing restrictions on parties during the festive season, uncontrolled migration of people posing a threat to security and failure of the state in pursuing the Centre for constituting a inter-state river water tribunal to sort out the Mhadei issue.

Mr Parrikar, along with legislature party spokesman Damodar Naik also demanded publication of a "white paper" on the status of the project works on the Mhadei water basin in neighbouring Karnataka, even as the petition challenging the project was pending before the Supreme Court.

"Though the Congress was in power both in the state and at the Centre, the Goa government had been sitting ducks for the last four years, thus failing to impress upon the Centre to set up a tribunal for resolving the dispute with Karnataka and protect the genuine interests of Goa," he said.

"The Government’s unilateral decision to lead a delegation of all ministers, legislators and MPs to Delhi to stage a dharna in front of Parliament on the issue without taking the BJP into confidence will not be tolerated," Mr Parrikar added.

The BJP, however, supported the genuine initiatives of the Government on the Mhadei issue, he said, adding, "It was surprising why Goa was failing to condemn the inaction of the Centre in dealing with the contentious issue for long."

The Opposition leader also censured the state for imposing stringent security measures by playing into the hands of terrorists who wanted to disrupt the country’s economy, including Goa, during this festive season.

The restrictions, though not based on specific intelligence inputs on terrorism perception, had discouraged tourists, affecting the state economy this season, Mr Parrikar said.

He questioned why the Government had gone into "shock mode" this month, whereas it was in deep slumber, despite the BJP cautioning the authorities against the functioning of certain SIMI modules in Goa earlier.

What was required now was to step in intelligence for specific inputs on terrorists strike and not erecting barricades and ban parties to cause inconvenience to the tourists thronging the state during the festive season, affecting the economy as desired by the terrorists, he said.

The immature political leadership, with its "headless chicken" Government, had hurt the state economy this season by acting in a "foolish manner on threat perception", he said.

The Government should have acted with more responsibility in this regard, as tourism was one of the revenue earners for the state, he added.

(UNI)

Need to brace technology-driven agri to improve
production

KOLKATA, Dec 27: The need to embrace technology and use scientifically improved seeds for enhancing agricultural production was stressed by former president A P J Abdul Kalam today.

"We have 170 million hectares for agriculture and last year’s production was only 200 million tonnes. Our productivity is very low, we have to increase production of agriculture," Kalam said while inaugurating the State Science Fair here which was being held to commemorate the 150^{th birth anniversary of noted scientist Jagdish Chandra Bose.}

^{Kalam said there was a need to use scientifically improved seeds. However, the modified seeds should have greater productivity and use less water.}

^{Kalam, who interacted with students of a number of schools of the city on the occasion, said, "Science was always borderless and continue to be borderless".}

^{He asked students to be creative as "creativity leads to thinking. Thinking provides the knowledge. Knowledge makes you great".}

^{"Knowledge is equal to creativity, courage and righteousness. When there is righteousness in the heart, there is beauty in the character. When there is beauty in the character, there is harmony in the home. When there is harmony in the home, there is order in the nation," Kalam said.}

^{He asked students to befriend good books and good teachers as only scientific minds could lead the nation to development. (PTI)}

SP opens helpline service against brutalities of
Mayawati Govt

LUCKNOW, Dec 27: The Samajwadi Party (SP) today announced the opening of a helpline service to enable the commonman to ‘fearlessly’

complain against the atrocities of the ruling Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) during alleged collection of funds for the birthday celebrations of BSP chief Mayawati in wake of the PWD engineer M K Gupta’s murder.

"The people, who are being victimised in the name of pooling of funds for the birth anniversary of Ms Mayawati, can file their complaint at this helpline service without any fear as their names would not be disclosed," SP MP and Youth Cell president Akhilesh Yadav said.

He asked the traders, officials and industrialists to say a big ‘no’ to this money extortion.

The presidents of the SP wings would be available on telephones to hear the woes of the people, Mr Yadav informed.

Charging the ministers, MLAs and MPs of the ruling BSP with extracting money on the directions of Ms Mayawati, the SP MP said the party would observe 15^{th January—the birthday of the CM—as ‘Thu-Thu diwas.’}

^{The BSP has already announced to mark the day as ‘Dhikkar Diwas’ against the Opposition party.}

^{SP State unit president Shivpal Singh Yadav, meanwhile, met the detained party workers at Etawah jail. He said they were being treated as criminals and not provided proper food and blankets in the prison.}

^{The whole matter had sparked-off on December 24, when a PWD engineer M K Gupta, was murdered by BSP MLA Shekhar Tiwari and his accomplices, while allegedly extracting money for the approaching birthday of Ms Mayawati.}

^(UNI)

All religion meeting held to pay homage to 26/11 victims

THANE, Dec 27: An all religion meeting was held here to pay homage to 26/11 Mumbai martyrs.

Thousands of people from various walks of life including doctors, lawyers, teachers and judicial officers participated in the memory meeting.

Speaking on the occasion, senior BJP leader Om Prakash Sharma declared that a memorial would be set up in the tribal Jawhar taluka in rememberance of terror attack victims.

The memorial, a first of its kind, will be engraved with the names of jawans and policemen who have laid down their lives fighting for the country, he said.

More than 12,000 jawans had lost their lives in various wars till now, Sharma claimed, adding that many loose their lives in the various actions everyday.

The memorial would a befitting tribute to them, he said.

A Saheed Smarak Samiti has also been set up for the purpose which includes former DG R T Rathod, a former Judge of the Bombay High Court Justice Jayant Chitre, Advocate B L Sharma, freedom fighter Ravindra Vaidya, retired BSF official Kailas Joshi, MPs and MLAs from the district, prominent doctors and renowned social workers and journalists. (PTI)

Eng killing: Centre ready for CBI probe if UP
recommends it

KANPUR, Dec 27: The Centre today said it was ready to order a CBI probe into the killing of the PWD engineer allegedly by a BSP MLA and his supporters if the same was recommended by the Uttar Pradesh Government.

"If the UP Government recommends a CBI probe into the killing of engineer M K Gupta in Auraiya, the Centre will order a CBI probe into the matter," Union Minister of State for Home and an MP from the city Sriprakash Jaiswal told reporters here.

He said that invoking the provisions of the National Security Act (NSA) and the Gangster Act on prime accused BSP MLA Shekhar Tiwari was just a "face saving" exercise of the State Government.

"The nation wants to know that why the BSP give tickets to criminals and make them MPs and MLAs. The image of a leader is very important in a democracy and political parties should refrain from giving tickets to tainted persons who abuse their posts later," Jaiswal said. (PTI)

Bawana project to be commissioned before C’wealth
Games: Sheila

NEW DELHI, Dec 27: Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit today said the largest gas-based power project in Northern India at Bawana would be commissioned well in time before the commencement of the 2010 Commonwealth Games.

Ms Dikshit, who, along with Union Minister of State for Power Jairam Ramesh, inspected the site of the project where various construction activities are on, said that the 1500 MW gas-based combined cycle power project, Pragati Power-III, is being considered for the issue of the mega power status certificate.

The Chief Minister, who was also accompanied by Chief Secretary Rakesh Mehta, Power Secretary Rajendra Kumar, CMD BHEL and other senior officers of the PPCL and IPGCL, said that gas supply arrangements have already been signed with GAIL, IOC and BPCL. GAIL has started laying of pipeline and installation of gas terminal at the site.

A turn-key contract was awarded to BHEL on April 30, 2008, whereas the NTPC has been engaged as consultant from the concept to the commissioning of the project. BHEL has already placed order for gas turbine and testing of the first gas turbine would be conducted in February, 2009.

Ms Dikshit said gas turbine-I would start generating 250 MW in March, 2010, while the gas turbine-II would generate another 250 MW in May, 2010, and gas turbine-III would generate 250 MW in July, 2010.

A steam turbine-I would generated 250 MW in July, 2010, whereas the rest 500 MW would be generated before commencement of the 2010 Commonwealth Games by gas turbine-IV and steam turbine-II.

Ms Dikshit expressed confidence that with the commissioning of the Pragati Power-III Project, there would be no shortage of power during the Commonwealth Games and all venues would have un-interrupted power supply. This would also go a long way in making "Delhi a power-surplus state".

Speaking on the occasion, Mr Ramesh assured of all possible cooperation by his Ministry in completion of the power project within the stipulated time-period.

The Chief Minister stated that Delhi has become the first city-state to start its own generation after a long gap.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had laid the foundation of the Bawana project on March 24.(UNI)

Amar meets Sonia to discuss seat sharing in UP

NEW DELHI, Dec 27: Samajwadi Party general secretary Amar Singh and Congress chief Sonia Gandhi met today and decided to finalise the seat-sharing agreement in Uttar Pradesh for the coming Lok Sabha elections at the earliest.

Singh met Gandhi for 15 minutes this afternoon to give a final shape to the seat-sharing agreement. The two leaders reportedly decided to settle the issue at the earliest, SP sources said.

Only yesterday, SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadav had authorised Amar Singh to finalise the protracted seat-sharing arrangement talks with Congress.

Yadav expressed hope that Gandhi will take a decision on seat finalisation soon.

SP has maintained that the arrangement between the two parties was aimed "at weakening BSP in UP and not for grabbing seats from each other... It’s a collective effort".

Singh had taken a swipe at Congress saying that though it refused to give seats to SP in Madhya Pradesh assembly elections, "we have gone out of our way to accommodate them in Uttar Pradesh".

Congress and SP have had two rounds of talks for seat sharing in UP and are yet to finalise the agreement. (PTI)